Lock-rod for card-holders.



No. 664,753. Patented Dec.v 25, |900.

D. E. HUNTER.

LUCK BOD FDH CARU HOLDERS.

(Appli ti 1 dJ n.20 1900) (No Model.)

mrlmlmtli ma norms PErERs cc., Moro-dm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID E. HUNTER, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE LIBRARY BUREAU, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LOCK-ROD FOR CARD-HOLDERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 664,753, dated. December 25, 1900.

Application iiled January 20, 1900. Serial No. 2,121. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, DAVID E. HUNTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cambridge, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Lock-Rods for Card-Holders, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My present invention is an improvement in card-holders, having special reference to the holding or retaining device provided for engaging the cards as the latter are placed in a suitable drawer or other receptacle such as is comlnonly provided for card-indexes, records, dac.

In the last few years great activity has sprung up in the employment of cards for a great variety of purposes in connection with library and mercantile records, indexes, &c., and in view of the importance of the records preserved by these cards and the great danger of losing individual cards various devices have been invented for holding the cards locked in position against removal from the drawer, while still permitting the cards to be readily moved back and forth in and longitudinally of the drawer for purposes of inspection. Many of the said inventions in this line are practical, and the present trade competition is not so much directed to the movement or operation of the devices as it is to their economy of production or manufacture, and accordingly one main object of my present invention is to produce an exceedingly simple and serviceable device, fulfilling all the most exacting requirements and yet capable of production at a very low cost.

My present invention is of the expansion lock-rod type, in which I employ, preferably, two wires or rods of any suitable shape in cross-section, said rods being shown as longitudinally movable and at the same time capable of expansion and contraction in order to lock or unlock the cards within the drawer or box.

My invention also includes means for the accurate adjustment of the lock-rod, this being of great importance, inasmuch as the cards usually employed are cut accurately and require a corresponding nicety of action on the part of the locking or retaining device.

The details of construction and operation of my invention will be more fully pointed out in the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, illustrative of one embodiment thereof, and the invention will be more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure lis a top plan view of a fragmentary'portion of the front and rear ends of a card-receptacle provided with my invention, parts being broken away and sectioned in order to show fully and clearly the details of construction. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing the parts, however, in expanded or card-locking position. Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal section thereof, showing the lock-rod in side elevation. It will be understood that the box or drawer d, containing a front inclined block ct and a sliding block or support (1.2, may be of any usual or desired kind adapted for the purpose.

The lock-rod or card-locking device consists, preferably, of two members a3 a4, shown herein as identical in shape and each having an outturned neck a5 and an obliquely and inwardly turned or bent head d6 at its forward end and at its rear end provided with a deflected or bent portion a7, extending parallel to the part a6. These members, it will be observed, may be struck up at one blow and are therefore inexpensive in material and labor. The last remark is substantially true of all the parts of my invention.

The heads d6 of the locking members are mounted in perforated ears 01.8, struck vup at the opposite ends of a plate 01.9, secured to the bottom of the box by suitable means, as -by screws d10, and the rear ends a7 of the locking members are similarly held in perforations provided in the ends of a tailpiece 0,12, riveted or otherwise secured on the inner end of a bolt or adjusting member C013, held in any suitable part of the box and preferably extending through the end thereof, as shown in the drawings, being held in position by opposite nuts ttm-0.15, a washer am being shown as interposed between the latter and the end of the box. This provision is-for the purpose IOO v lengths of different drawers or boxes.

It will be 4readily understood that if the members a3 t4 were notexactly parallel the cards at one end of the box would be held so tightly that they would soon be worn out or mutilated or else the cards at the other end of the box would not be properly retained, whereas by providing the inexpensive and yet accurate adjustment above explained vtne members CL3 a4, no matter how long they may be, can be quickly adjusted with extreme accuracy, so that they will be perfectly parallel.

At its forward end the box a is simply bored with a proper hole to receive a socket-piece 0,17, said socket-piece being of special construction, having, as is clearly shown in the drawings, a series of annular inclined ribs n.18, each smaller lat its inner end than at its outer end and the latter having a sharp edge,

` so that no other retainingmeans is necessary,

this socket being simply driven tightly into the hole provided therefor and embedding itself in the wood, so as to be practically nonrem'ovable therefrom without special independent securing means. The socket-piece a contains a spindle alg, provided with a knob a2 or other hand device, and at its inner Vend the spindle 0,19 carries a plate @21, which may be secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by a screw 0.22 or a rivet. The plate com is preferably of substantially T shape, having one end turned up to be secured to the spindle ctw, as stated, and its other ends struck up into U shape, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, to form eyes @23, receiving the necks a5 and permitting the latter to move back and forth 'freely therein, according to the requirements of operation. Preferably the spin dle'has also a pin Q24, adapted to work in an L-shaped groove @25, formed in the socket-piece a, for the purpose of locking the spindle against outward movement when the lock-rod is in expanded position.

In use the operator when he desires to unlock the cards takes hold of the knob d20, the part-s then being in the position shown in Fig. 2, rotates the same slightly over to the left, so as to unlock it and render it capable of outward movement, and then pulls upon the same, thereby drawing the parts into the position shown in Fig. 1 the two obliquely-bent portions t6 t7 of each memberof the lock-rod sliding, respectively, in the perforated ears a8 a12 containing them, and thereby serving to contract or bring the members a3 a4 together into position, so that cards may be taken out or put into the box or receptacle et. If the members a3 d4 do not come exactly together, but are slightly apart at their rear ends, the bolt als will be moved outwardly slightly.

It will be understood that various minor changes may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention,

and while I prefer to stamp out certain of the parts from sheet metal they may be made of wire or other 'material or may be cast or otherwise formed, and while I have spoken of the members being bent I wish it understoodV that by this phrase I do not restrict myself to actual bending or distortion, but merely mean that the parts shown have the shape required.

It will be apparent that the leading parts of my invention, particularly the plates a9V L12 @21 and the members a3, a4, and d, may be struck up into finished shape with one blow ofsuitable forming-dies and that they thereafter require practically no manipulation to reach their finished form. Moreover,

the box itself requires simply two holes, and Y it is therefore a mere nominal expense to provide my improved lock-rod in ordinary commercial card holders or boxes. A

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat- 1 9or Y 1. In a card-holder, a lock-rod comprising c ent, is-

.two members adapted to extend longitudi-v nally of said holder, said members having their opposite ends bent away from each other, and the forward extremities vof said members being bent or deiiected inwardly toward each other, the extremities of eachV two members each having a portion thereof outwardly bent, and at the same end another I portion obliquely bent, stationary bearings wsVV for said oblique portions,and an actuating c device having at its inner end arms slidingly engaged with said outwardly-bent portions,

moving it in and out.

' and at its outer end provided with means for Y 4. In a card-holder, a lock-rod V'having locking members, combined with a plate having at its rear end opposite U-shaped parts embracing said members, and an operating device for said plate and members connected to said plate.

5. In a card-holder,` a lock-rod comprisingY `IooY a vplurality of members having oppositely and obliquely bent portions', a stationary plate fixed in said .holder and containing bearings for said oblique portions; and means for adjusting said plate to bring said Vmembers .intoYV accurate parallelism.

6. In a card-holder, a lock-rod comprising two separable members, and means for vadj usting said members into accurate parallelism of movement.

7. In a card-locking apparatus of the kind described, a lock-rod comprising a plurality ISO 9. In a Gard-holder, a lock-rod comprising a plurality of members having oppositely and obliquely bent portions, a threaded bolt having a head containing independent bearings for said members, and threaded means cooperating with said bolt for adjusting the same longitudinally of said members.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID E. HUNTER.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. MAXWELL, GEO. W. GREGORY. 

